


A Long Way From The Top

by jaerie



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Blood, Blood Drinking, Death, M/M, Mountaineering, Subzero Masturbation, Vampires, dead bodies, death talk, keep that in mind, minor mention of past harry/mitch, you have to die to become a vampire
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-04
Updated: 2019-05-04
Packaged: 2020-02-25 23:21:00
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,409
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18711745
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jaerie/pseuds/jaerie
Summary: Harry needed to find a purpose in life.  Mount Everest wasn't the place he'd expected to find it, but he'd take what he could get.  He also hadn't expected to come home with extra baggage.





	A Long Way From The Top

**Author's Note:**

> I am obsessed with Everest thanks to the other Larry Everest fic that came out a handful of years ago. I started following the climbing season while reading that fic and have every year since. I wanted to add a lot more detail about the actual climb, etc, but found it didn't exactly fit in this AU. If anyone is curious about any of this, come talk to me on tumblr after fics are revealed!! or in the comments. I could talk Everest all day and this fic is being submitted in the height of the climbing season!

One foot slowly after the other.  The space between his slow motion steps extended further until he wondered if he was even moving at all.  Lifting each foot was a monumental task, pulling himself up onto his crampon-anchored foot was painfully exhausting.  His breathing was slow and laboured and he likened it to breathing in and out of a plastic bag taped over his face or maybe running on a treadmill while breathing through a straw.  The air was thin and the oxygen mask covering his nose and mouth did little to aid him. They’d just hooked him up to a fresh tank, too. 

Climbers unclipped to pass him, clipping themselves back into the fixed line once they’d carefully gone around.  He couldn’t process how they were able to move in fast forward, how they could zip around him with some kind of drug addled super strength.  Maybe that was it. Louis needed some of whatever they were on. They used to give cocaine to bomber pilots during long missions, right? He thought he’d read that somewhere.  That’s what he needed.

His name was being called out, screamed at him.  It sounded warbled like they were underwater. It made him want to laugh and in his mind, he did.  All the people around him in Darth Vader space masks floated into and then out of is vision. He supposed that was what happened in zero gravity in space.  Oh yeah, that’s where he was. He was floating around in space with only a single rope to tether him down. 

Why would he want to be tied down?  Floating in space sounded like a wonderful experience and these spacemen were holding him back.  They couldn’t restrict him if he got himself free. 

He slowly released his grip and then he was weightless.  He could see the brilliant blue sky and the fluffy clouds surrounding him, so close he could reach out to feel their cotton candy softness.  He did just that and felt they were cold. He hadn’t expected that. He thought they would feel like warm cotton balls stretched into strings.  

“We have to leave him,” he heard from far away as he floated on.  

Yes.  Leave him.  He was happy here.  Never before had he experienced such a calming, blissful high.  It wrapped him up and pillowed his body, his cloud sailing on past the group of parachute wearing top guns. 

Leave him.  He wanted to stay.  He didn’t want to go.  

 

-

 

It was nearly six in the evening when Harry finally drove his car into his garage and sat behind the wheel while the door rattled shut behind him.  He turned the key but left it in the ignition before grabbing his satchel and heading into the house. 

Even though it was like stepping into a time machine, it was one of the only places in the world that Harry could even attempt to feel comfortable.  The dark wood paneling covering the walls was welcoming as was the olive green shag carpet that still covered the floor of his living room. It matched the worn and faded crushed velvet chairs with their decorative throw pillows that flanked the old patterned sofa.  With only a few minor changes– a large, flat screen tv and space for his computer– It was the same room that came with so many of his teenage memories. 

Now in the middle of suburbia, his parents had built the ranch style house in the early 1970’s when the neighborhood had been considered on the outskirts of town.  Now Harry had to drive at least forty five minutes just to catch a glimpse of any open space. 

He sat down on his corner of the sofa and rested his boot-covered feet on the coffee table in front of him.  The echoes of his mother scolding to put his feet down made him smile fondly. It didn’t feel like so long ago that he would have been quick to mouth off and grumble as he dropped his feet back to the floor in a huff.  It was for those moments that Harry had left the house much the same as it had always been. He didn’t have the strength to wipe away those reminders when everything now seemed to fleeting. Soon enough, all the traces of his family would be lost and he wanted to hold on to them as long as he could.  

It was bad enough that he’d never had a chance to say goodbye.  

At the time, he hadn’t considered himself much different than any other teenager in the neighborhood.  In retrospect, he supposed he had been at least a bit more rebellious. He grew his hair long, wore styles that made his mother tsk, and lived for rock n roll.  It was innocent, really, compared to the way the teenagers around him now behaved even though his lifestyle ultimately led to his downfall. 

Not everyone would refer to it as such, but Harry did.  So maybe Harry had smoked a little too much pot and enjoyed his sexuality a little too much.  That didn’t mean he wasn’t a good person. He never had or wanted to hurt anyone– not on purpose, anyway.  Now, that was a constant struggle for what he was. It was ingrained in his nature to seek out humans to hurt.  That was how he was wired. 

The first few years had been rough.  Led by his maker, Mitch, he’d followed along like a lost puppy, finishing off left overs before his thirst took over his instinct and left a large red streak in his history.  

There had been a turning point, a switch that flipped in Harry’s blood thirsty mind.  He’d left his coven then and submitted to the dull, boring act of a middle class man. He had a job, just for something to do, and came home to an empty house full of ghosts– the memories of his first life.  

Immortality was supposed to be blissful.  Men sought out ways to live forever which ironically led some to their deaths.  It was a lifelong quest for humans to look younger, feel younger, act younger. The truth behind was less less flattering– at least in Harry’s case.  

He may just be the first depressed vampire in the history of the world.  Maybe not depressed, maybe just looking for a purpose. A purpose that didn’t involve sucking the life out of humans just to keep himself fed.  

He’d tried that with his current profession.  In an attempt to help humans rather than kill them, Harry had taken a job as a phlebotomist.  It was easy to detect when something was off with the blood which led him to help with early diagnoses that would have normally been overlooked.  In addition to that, it was easy to slip out a few pints of blood from the bank to keep himself sated when he needed it. It wasn’t as satisfying, but he’d learned to live with it.  Training his his senses not to react to the subtle whoosh of blood through a heart or the mouthwatering sight and smell of freshly let red had been hard work. It was still a struggle on some days.  

But he was determined to avert himself from his urges.  

Still, those handful of lives he might have possibly saved seemed like a drop in the ocean of mankind.  There had to be more, had to be something he could contribute. 

He let out a long sigh as he grabbed the remote and flipped on the tv.  It was not the same level of comfort it used to be when he was still human, but he still slouched down and leaned his head back, his senses sharp enough to catch everything on the screen without actively paying attention.  

The news report flickered on to a clip of a crying and distraught family, pleading for help while the camera zoomed in on their crisis behind the press podium.  Harry paid attention to see what tragedy had struck the world and was immediately intrigued. 

A newly wed couple had put everything they had into their unique honeymoon trip– a chance to climb Mount Everest.  Just two days before, an unfortunate accident had caused the couple to fall to their untimely deaths just hours after reaching the summit.  The family had desperately been trying to convince anyone to retrieve their bodies and return them for a proper burial. Where they had fallen, the reporter explained, it was too difficult to reach them and almost certainly impossible to get their frozen bodies down the mountain.  

He listened as they cited attempts made to retrieve bodies in the past that had ended in the deaths or injuries of others leaving most unwilling to try.  Let alone the nearly $100,000 price tag such a mission would carry. The insurance the climbers were required to purchase didn’t include coverage for rescue after death.  When it came to Mount Everest– and any other eight-thousander for that matter– it was for good reason. 

With his curiosity piqued, Harry pulled out his laptop and started a search of Everest.  Of course he was aware of the mountain and vaguely recalled hearing bits and pieces of information over the years, but nothing had stuck with him.  

As he scrolled through the Wikipedia pages and other search results, he was shocked to discover that hundreds of bodies were allegedly still on the mountain where they had died.  He continued to scroll through the pictures and articles in disbelief. There weren’t many places where bodies were left in plain sight simply because the effort to move them was humanly impossible.  There were other beings out there capable of such a mission. Was no one willing to step up to help? Had centuries of immortality stopped them all from caring? 

Probably.  

But this was something Harry could do.  It was small but something he could help with.  

Immediately he opened a new tab and began to search for climbing gear.  While Harry wouldn’t need the down climbing suits, thick gloves or supplemental oxygen, that didn’t mean he could easily make his way up the steep snow and ice covered mountain with just his bare hands.  Harry was fast with eternal stamina, but he couldn’t grow claws to aid his ascent. No doubt he could eventually make it to the summit, it just wouldn’t be in a timely or effective manner. He almost certainly wouldn’t be able to carry down two frozen bodies that way either without damaging or losing them all together.  

Crampons and ice axes were definitely a more practical option.  If Harry was anything in his vampire life, he was practical. 

He made the purchases and had them rush shipped to Nepal before booking the next available flight to Kathmandu.  The trek to Lukla and then to base camp would be a quick one with Harry’s speed. He estimated it would only take him a few hours at most if he traveled at night so he wouldn’t be detected.  

With his Kindle loaded with a library of books on both the history of Mount Everest and guides on climbing it, Harry threw a few things into a bag and headed off to the airport with one of his forged passports ready to make a difference.  

 

-

 

Harry couldn’t get over how beautiful the Himalayas turned out to be.  Much of the landscape he passed remained untouched apart from the villages and bridges built between them.  Even under the cover of night, his sharp eyesight had given him the privilege of taking in the majestic views and serene landscapes that calmed his soul– if he even still had one.  It was times like this when he was sure he still did. Mitch had always told Harry he’d retained more of his human traits than anyone else he’d seen turned. 

The sun was just beginning to creep over the mountain ridges when Harry arrived at Everest Base Camp.  With the climbing season nearly over, the remaining mountaineers and Sherpa were packing up their tents and supplies, tearing down the small city they had created and spent the last few months in.  He surveyed the rock covered expanse they had occupied and wondered how they could make it home. As a human, Harry knew he would never be able to sleep on such a surface even with some kind of padding.  

He found a large boulder to park himself on and began the task of unpacking all of his freshly purchased gear.  It hadn’t seemed worth his time to open everything before he set off. He could sense the small audience he was attracting as he opened boxes and pulled fresh plastic off his shiny new pink climbing boots and pulled the crampons from their case.  

The boots were easy enough to figure out and they were soon on his feet.  The crampons, however, took a bit more effort. He had to resort to pulling up a tutorial video so as not to draw further attention to himself and his obvious inexperience.  He didn’t need people asking questions. 

He couldn’t help but laugh at himself once he stood strapped into his boots with a utility belt around his waist complete with ice axe and rope secured in the loops.  Had he still been human, he probably would have already died on the trek in and now he was about to head up the tallest mountain. It was so far beyond something that would have interested him in his former life.  

But he was on a mission in this one.  

With a big determined breath that puffed out his chest and made him square his shoulders, he hooked his thumbs into the straps of his backpack and set off towards the icefall.  

He’d only made it about a hundred yards when the pounding of heavy footfalls crunching over rock came from where he had just been.  He paused only when a voice called out and turned to see one of the climbers chasing after him. The man looked worn down. His clothes hung loose off his body of skin and bone and his face was tanned with deep wrinkles that resembled thick leather.  A lighter raccoon mask striped his face where his sunglasses had been sitting and he looked in need of a long shower. 

“What do you think you’re doing?” the man was huffing by the time he reached where Harry stood.  He had to bend over with his hands on his knees to pull breath into his lungs and Harry could hear the hard thudding pulse of his heart.  It didn’t sound normal, more lethargic and laboured than that of a healthy man. The sound of the blood in his veins didn’t sound quite right either.  

“Don’t worry, I’m just going for a little stroll,” Harry tried to remain upbeat so nothing would seem suspicious.  He didn’t even believe himself so he probably wasn’t doing a great job. 

“You can’t go up there like that.”  

The man pointed towards the icefall and Harry followed the point with his eyes.  Sunlight had begun to flicker and sparkle off the crystals of ice and snow in a spectacular show of beauty.  The details were even more vivid to Harry’s heightened senses and he became distracted for a moment. 

“A cold front is set to come through and you won’t last an hour dressed like that.”  

The man gestured to Harry’s bare arms.  He should have known better. A full down suit with all the accessories wasn’t necessary, but he could have at least pretended he was dressed accordingly.  He could have lied and convinced the man it was some form of new technology he was testing out. Hyper-thin blubber skin or something. 

“Oh, don’t worry.  I’ve got all that in my pack.”  

He thumbed towards his back with a convincing smile.  The man stared at him. They both knew everyone had watched Harry remove the tags from the zippers and what few items he had stowed inside.  

“No one will be around to rescue you,” the man said more seriously. 

Harry did feel bad for him.  He was only trying to be helpful, trying to prevent another life lost on the mountain.  There was no way for Harry to explain that the worry present on his face wasn’t necessary, no way to tell him not to fret.  

“I know,” Harry reached out to put a reassuring hand on his shoulder, squeezing lightly.  “I promise I won’t be going far.” 

He could tell the man was reluctant to let him go but eventually it was all that he could do.  Harry gave him one last smile and then turned back to continue towards the maze of ice. 

On the plane Harry had plenty of time to memorize the route and read the experiences of many climbers who had written books about their expeditions over the years.  He knew exactly what to expect when he came upon the first aluminum ladder placed horizontally across a wide crevasse in the Khumbu icefall. They had made this far too easy for him.  He even chuckled to himself as he took hold of the rope and took his first step onto the makeshift bridge. 

On his second step, the ladder shifted and Harry found himself free falling until his body wedged between two giant slabs of ice at least fifty feet from where he had been.  

“Fuck!” he swore and started to wiggle his body loose.  That fall would have shattered a human’s legs at the very least.  There would have been no hope for a rescue, lost below in an icy tomb.  He pouted when he saw his new pink climbing boots scratched and scuffed by the ice but it wasn’t like they had been for fashion to begin with.

The ice groaned and cracked around him in the moving glacier-river that was the icefall.  Every noise echoed and nothing at all seemed stable. When reading all the books, he figured the human experience would be exaggerated and not as intense for him.  That had been a mistake. 

It was a slow process to climb up the steep wall to the surface.  His strength wasn’t the problem. Instead, the ice was either too solid or the snow too soft to jam his axe or crampon points for a good grip.  Each time his axe bit in for a solid hold, he vowed to be more cautious on the rest of the ladders. Obviously he was unharmed, but it was stupid to waste even more valuable time correcting stupid mistakes.  

He was here to retrieve the couple for their loved ones, not make himself an obstacle course for mountaineering practice.  Every day, every  _ hour _ left the family back more distraught without closure.  Harry wanted to end their suffering or at least ease it a little.  

The rest of the icefall went much smoother and soon he was on his way towards Camp One.  It was there that Harry came upon the first body of a fallen climber. Covered and marked with a pile of rocks, the now faded bright orange suit stuck out against the snow like a spotlight in the dead of night.  

Harry paused to take in the reality of mortality on the mountain and said a little prayer to the God he knew he’d never meet.  

The marks of time assured Harry that this was not one of the climbers he was searching for but vowed to return to this one as well.  He’d return all of them to their loved ones if he was able. 

According to reports from the mountaineering company guiding the couple, they had been lost below the Hillary Step not far from the summit.  He’d read the posts with the sensation of tears in his eyes as the team described the decision to leave them to the mercy of the mountain. 

Showing symptoms of HACE– high-altitude cerebral edema– the young wife had become confused and struggled to remove her oxygen mask.  Combative when the team attempted to put it back into place, her husband had been pushed over and knocked unconscious by her actions.  Though the Sherpa and guides spent hours trying to get them back on their feet and on the move, they were very quickly past the help available to them.  

Though the initial report had said they had fallen to their deaths, they had been left within their final breaths of life, together on the tallest mountain in the world.  

Altitude wasn’t something that affected Harry very much anymore.  He could remember taking a family vacation to Pikes Peak and vomiting over his parents while his head throbbed and pounded.  He would have laughed himself to tears if someone told him he would eventually find himself standing on the tallest point in the world.  

It didn’t take Harry long to pass through Camp Two, Camp Three and then on to Camp Four.  With most of the expeditions already on their way out of the country, Harry was shocked to see just how much had been left behind along the route.  Wind ravaged tents were still anchored onto narrow ice ledges while other gear and supplies stuck out of the snow. Maybe mountain cleanup would have to be his next mission.  The sheer amount of trash was overwhelming. 

He shook his head at the sad state of the mountain and took a step to start his climb towards the summit.  

A weak thud made him pause.  

It wasn’t the sound of a fall or the shifting of ice.  It was distinctly the sound that every one of his senses was attuned to.  It was the sound of a single heartbeat. 

Harry froze and waited to pinpoint the direction from which it had come.  The wind whipped around him and ice began to build on his hands since he stood so still.  He waited and had just taken another step when he heard the sound again. 

Thud.  

The environment had to be playing tricks on him.  There had been too much space between them for the sound to have been a heartbeat.  He waited again but had to push on when time stretched and he hadn’t heard the sound again.  

The crunch of his crampons in the snow became a steady rhythm up the steep slope.  He followed the fixed lines left by the commercial climbers so he knew he hadn’t lost the route.  

Harry came upon the bodies of the two climbers exactly where he expected them to be.  Though he had read that the Hillary Step had collapsed in recent years, the place of the landmark of the climb was still notable.  

So close to the top of the world, Harry couldn’t help passing the couple by in order to stand on the summit.  He’d traveled so many miles that it only made sense to go just a bit further. 

He made his way up and then he was standing on the small summit amongst tattered prayer flags and mementos left over the years of heavy mountain traffic.  Harry just stood in the center and slowly turned to take in the view. It was absolutely stunning. Faced with it, it was easy to see why the quest had pulled at so many over the past century.  

It was hardly past midday, but Harry didn’t have a reason to linger.  He took one last look around and then headed back down towards the bodies he was set to retrieve.  

They looked so peaceful lying together on top of the snow.  Harry would have just thought they were sleeping if it hadn’t been for the absence of their beating hearts.  

Watching other attempts to move bodies at high altitudes, Harry modeled their approach and wrapped each in thick plastic sheeting held closed with ropes.  He’d need the ropes in place later when he reached some of the more difficult sections of the mountain. He wouldn’t feel right just dropping them down while he climbed down himself.  He owed them more respect than that. 

With both bodies in tow, Harry started down the mountain.  It was difficult to keep his balance while also not letting his cargo become too damaged.  

He was descending the Southeast Ridge when a sudden rapid heartbeat made his fangs pulse with thirst.  He glanced behind him thinking one of the couple had miraculously revived but no, it was coming from the other direction.  He pushed forward towards the sound of life and nearly dropped his load when he came upon a sight he did not expect to encounter in the death zone.  

There on The Balcony Harry found a man completely nude with the exception of his climbing boots and snow suit stuck around them mid-calf.  Everything else had been shed to expose his pale skin to the brilliant light of the unfiltered sun. 

He was spread out in the snow with his thighs parted, hands stripping away at his hard cock as if he were in the privacy of his own bedroom.  

Harry blinked in shock and wondered if altitude hallucinations actually did happen to vampires as well.  There was no way what he was seeing was real. 

But the rapid heartbeat thrummed steadily in his ears and he licked his lips at the sound.  It had been a while since he’d fed– honestly he hadn’t thought much about it when booking his flight– and he could smell the metallic scent thick in the thin air.  

He left the bodies where they wouldn’t slide down the slope and was at the naked climber’s side in an instant.  The climb had been brutal on the man, skin loose in places from his body eating away at itself in the conditions.  Frostbite was also visible on his nose and hands. Not all his fingers were even capable of wrapping around his weak erection.  Instead he used the palms of both hands to surround it while several of his fingers stayed frozen solid and straight. Harry would have found it amusing if his mouth and his own dick weren’t clearly interested despite the situation.  

It was no secret that Harry was a very sexual creature.  Even before he’d been turned Harry was well known for his love of any body that made him feel good.  What bothered him now was that feeding directly from a human was an incredibly sexual experience for him if he dropped his guard even a little.  

Here on the mountain without witnesses, this man had already been written off as dead by anyone that would miss him.  No one would know he was gone. It was a loophole Harry could take advantage of without feeling too guilty for it. He could have his way with the human before indulging in the source of that sweet scent. 

He was at the human’s side within a blink of an eye.

He knocked the human’s nearly frozen hands away and licked his lips, ready to devour him.  

“Are you an angel?” a rough voice croaked in wonder.  His eyes were wide as a curious child, his pupils stretched enough to only leave a small ring of the blue pigment of his irises.  

Harry’s deadly charm spun it’s magic to lure him in further.  His brow cocked and his smug smirk twitched as he captured his gaze.  “If you want me to be.” 

“Oh fuck yes!” 

The man wriggled around in the snow as if he were trying to shed his clothes even though he already had.  Harry bowed his head to give the man’s frostbitten dick some attention before deploying his fangs. It had flagged significantly in their short exchange but Harry was still hungry and willing to play with his food.  

The man slowly deflated back against the snow like air being slowly let out of an air mattress and then… 

Thud.

It was the same beat Harry had heard before his trip up just before he headed towards the south summit.  He waited for it again but it failed to come. The rapid thrumming of the man’s heart that had attracted his attention had ceased and now the silence stretched on.  

Thud.  

The man was dying.  

Harry was shaken from his lust and into a panic.  The pulse he found on his femoral artery was so weak it was barely a twitch.

Thud.

Each one sounded painfully laboured, the space between them further apart.  The man was now unconscious with no visible signs of breath though Harry could hear the smallest rasp from his throat.  

Thud.  

There was no way Harry could get the man down the mountain fast enough to save his life.  Even if he did, there was little that could be done for him. The final stage of hypothermia had sent a surge of blood to the extremities giving the illusion of warmth.  It explained why the man had been spread out naked on the snow. Harry had witnessed his final surge of life. 

Thud.  

Harry panicked and plunged his fangs into the soft flesh of the man’s inner thigh.  His blood was so thick and gelatinous it nearly made Harry gag but he pushed through it.  The flavour was rich and concentrated, though, and he felt high from the rush. He forced his venom into the veins– the first time he’d ever done that– and listened for the death rattle to signal the end. 

Th-thunk.  

It had been ages since Harry had ingested blood so fresh and his body was going crazy with it.  He felt powerful and his senses were sharper. He didn’t stop until he couldn’t get any more, even puncturing several more places just to make sure the body had run dry.  

When the human was limp and lifeless, Harry finally stood up.  The sickly pale skin was a stark contrast to the bright red of the climbers suit bunched around his body.  Harry stared for a moment to take the situation in. He tucked the climber back into his suit after a few minutes– up to his waist at least.  It didn’t feel right to take away his dignity like that. 

Turning someone was something Harry had never attempted before and he figured must have done it wrong when the man remained lifeless.  In the spur of the moment, he hadn’t taken the time to really evaluate what he was doing. 

He sighed and turned to trek back to collect the load he’d climbed the mountain for.  He’d return for the climber he’d just drained but for now, he needed some time to think.  

 

-

 

Snow globes are so pretty.  

Reserved to just a small window of time, the holiday season had always kept them special.  They are reminders of magic and wonder, of watching fluffy snowflakes fall through the window, of warm mugs of hot chocolate cradled in chilled fingers.  They bring memories of twinkling Christmas lights, of flickering candles, of large home cooked meals. 

Louis loved snow globes– but that didn’t explain why he awoke to find himself inside of one.  

The snow swirled around him like a vigorously shaken orb with a dizzying effect.  Each flake caught the sunlight and sparkled as it whizzed past. Louis had never seen anything more beautiful in his life.  

He sat up and found himself on top of a blanket of snow and, for a minute, he thought maybe he really had been shrunk down into a snow globe.  He’d seen it on that one Christmas movie he’d seen a million times growing up. If magic was involved, it would explain why he wasn’t freezing.  He was bare chested without any winter gear, no hat or mittens covered his exposed skin. The snowsuit on his legs only came up to his waist which wouldn’t do much to keep him warm in the conditions he found himself in.  

But he wasn’t surrounded by water that would carry the flakes around him if he were enclosed in a globe.  The snow was riding on a brutal wind that whipped around him and became more dense the longer he watched. 

He stood and could just make out the shadowed peaks of rock around him and everything clicked.  It was a dream. The anxiety and anticipation of starting his Mount Everest summit bid had pushed him into a nightmare as he rested up for it.  His subconscious had placed him in the middle of a storm so his real climb would seem easy in comparison. 

Looking around, he was finally able to tell he was somewhere along The Balcony, identifiable only from the countless pictures and videos he’d memorized as he’d visualized the climb before his trip.  If he headed to his left, his path would take him up and over the South Summit and then on to the top of the world. If he went to his right, it would take him back down towards camp four where he was no doubt fast asleep huddled up in his tent.  

His dream-self might as well go for it if he’d already made it so far.  

Pulling the rest of his suit on so it wouldn’t get in the way, Louis ignored the thirst burning in his throat and headed off towards the top of the mountain.  His dream world could have at least provided him with some water. He didn’t even have a backpack. He figured the sensation had manifested from the deep dehydration he’d been experiencing every day.  Just breathing at such an altitude in such low temperatures sucked the moisture from his body with each breath he took. That wasn’t even counting the sweat that was constantly making him feel damp inside his suit.  

That feeling was at least something that was absent from his dream as was the stinging pain the cold brought to his skin.  His movements also felt more like a stroll in the park rather than the slow effort that had brought him up the hill so far on his trek.  

He beamed as he moved swiftly through the thickening snow and wind that whipped the edges of his suit with deafening sound.  There was nothing to it! When he woke up, his summit push was going to be a piece of cake. 

  
  


-

  
  


Of course a storm would blow in high on the mountain when Harry was about to head back up to retrive the body of the guy he’d abandoned up there.  It was technically possible for Harry to make it back up to the top, but he also really didn’t want to deal with all that. Getting the two bodies down the mountain without banging them up was enough work as it was.  He didn’t want to factor in trying it again with such high winds. 

Insteady, Harry left the couple by some remaining supplies at Base Camp along with the money needed to send them home and then climbed back up to Camp One to make himself useful.  

Even with the campaigns of recent years to make Everest a cleaner mountain, there was still over fifty years worth of trash lingering beneath the snow and over a billion people relying on the water source from these mountains.  Each climbing season churned more up to the surface which only proved it was a bigger problem than anyone liked to admit. He laughed to see some familiar logos from his youth on some of the rusted tins as he began to pick them up.  It was hard to imagine his peers climbing mountains while he had been slinking about with a blood thirsty coven. He tried not to think about how different his life could have been if he hadn’t been turned. 

Eventually the storm broke and Harry made his way back up the same route he’d followed the first time. The fresh snow had covered some of the things he’d seen and the wind had uncovered others he hadn’t.  He could understand how cleaning the mountain wasn’t a realistic task for the humans who climbed it. 

Upon reaching The Balcony, he kicked around some snow with his scuffed up boots but there was nothing to find.  The bright suit of the man he’d attempted to help was nowhere in sight. Surely there had to be some trace of his body.  There wasn’t really any place for it to go. 

With a sigh he headed back towards the summit.  If he was going to make any progress, he figured the best attack would be from the top down.  It was a little more difficult than it had been before. He found himself clipping into the remaining fixed lines just so the wind wouldn’t knock him off balance and further delay his progress.  

It was at the top where he again found a sight he had not been expecting.  There on the very tip of the mountain, the highest point in the world no larger than his small bathroom at home, sat the man in his brightly coloured suit.  It was pulled up over his shoulders and onto his arms now but remained unzipped. His hair whipped in the wind and sunglasses were perched on his nose with arms wrapped around his knees pulled up close to his chest.  He didn’t move, he didn’t speak and, for a moment, Harry thought he was dead. 

“Are you the angel of death?” The man finally spoke after a long stretch of silence.  “I thought this was a dream but I can’t seem to wake up and now you’re back.” He turned his head to look at Harry through his mirrored glasses.  “Was I supposed to learn some kind of lesson before you came back to fetch me?” 

“No,” Harry climbed up and sat down next to him, looking out at the view, taking it all in again.  “You were dying. I thought I’d be coming back for your body.” 

“That seems innocent, yet you have no gear and we’re having a conversation as if we were just watching the sun set in the park.” He turned to look at the side of Harry’s face.  “So tell me. Who are you and why are you here?” 

“I’m Harry and I just thought I could help.”  All he could do was shrug. “I wish I had a better answer for you but that’s all I’ve got.  I just stumbled upon you up here. I thought I’d killed you up here if I’m being honest, but I guess these things take some type.  I hadn’t expected that.” 

“What things?” 

“I panicked a little, I guess.  I’m a bit backwards from what I’m supposed to be.  I don’t like watching people die. I gave you my venom.”  

“So I’m some type of zombie??” the man exclaimed, his fingers jumping up to pull at his hair in stress.  

“No, nothing like that.  Vampire, I guess is what you’d call us.” 

“I go to climb a mountain and end up in a nightmare,” he mumbled and shook his head before resting it down on his drawn up knees.  

“It’s not so bad.  I was barely twenty when I was turned and I wasn’t even dying.  It’s like you have a second chance.” 

Harry could have laughed at himself for giving the look on the bright side speech when it was the opposite of how he’d felt for the past handful of decades.  In this man’s case though, it was true. It  _ was  _ a second chance.  He would have otherwise perished, abandoned on the side of a snow-covered rock.  

“I’m still waiting to wake up,” he mumbled and Harry understood.  It was a difficult thing to grasp. 

“Take whatever time you need.  You’ll have eternity to figure things out.  Good luck.” 

Harry gave him a pat on the shoulder and then rose, moving down to start collecting the oxygen bottles and forgotten climbers to take down the mountain.  

 

-

  
  


It was several days later when Harry could not only sense but also hear a shadow behind him as he moved along.  They stayed just out of sight, but Harry knew exactly who it was. By the time the sun rose again, Harry had had enough.  

“If you’re going to follow me, you could at least help!” Harry yelled out.  His voice rang out and echoed down the valley. A deep rumble started a few moments later and he watched as a serac broke free and sent a small avalanche traveling down below them.  At least there was no one left on the mountain. Basecamp had officially cleared out. Harry had checked. 

“What are you doing?” The man sheepishly stepped out from behind a boulder with his hands behind his back.  

“What does it look like I’m doing?  I’m cleaning up after you careless climbers.”  

He turned and stacked another bottle onto his pyramid of oxygen tanks.  

“I’m not a careless climber!  I’ve been carrying a heavy pack full of garbage and even my own shit this whole trip!”

“You literally left your body up here!”  

“And how was that my fault!?” 

They were both screaming until another deep rumble cut them off.  They weren’t doing anyone any favours by stirring up the glaciers.  

Harry sighed.  “You know what I mean.  I’m just trying to help do something not everyone can do, alright?”  

“And that includes turning people into vampires?” 

“It was an accident!” 

Harry pinched the bridge of his nose and breathed heavily even though it wasn’t a necessity for him.  Some human habits die hard. 

“I thought you were dead but then I heard your heart and found you jerking off in the snow.  Your heart was about to give out and I panicked, okay? It wasn’t something I was planning to do.”  

“I was WHAT?” 

“You don’t remember?  You’d ripped your suit off down to your boots and you were just… going at it right there in the snow.”  

He stared back at Harry for a long moment and then blinked once.  

“What the fuck?” he whispered and then looked up at the sky.  

“You can have your crisis or whatever but I’d like to finish this so I can go home, okay?  So you can either help me or go somewhere else.” 

The blinding light reflecting off the snow was starting to irritate Harry’s heightened senses and the constant wind was just annoying.  As much as he wanted to be useful, even an immortal could only handle so much at a time. He just wanted to settle in on his couch with a pint of blood and some Marvel movies.  He could always return to finish up later. It wasn’t like the mountain was going anywhere and neither was Harry, really. 

 

-

 

There was quite a haul back at base camp when Harry finally threw his last bag onto the top of the garbage he’d collected.  He had been more delicate with the bodies, gently laying them out to wait for the recovery team he’d anonymously sent for. The trash, however, had to go somewhere.  Harry wasn’t even sure where. 

“I could, um, go down and hire some porters,” a voice came from behind him.  

It said a lot that Harry had let his guard down.  He hadn’t even heard the baby vamp climber approach.  Harry spun around and rested his hands on his hips while he looked over his tattered appearance.  

“What happened to you?” 

“Just… fell a couple times,” the man shrugged, “I’m Louis, by the way.” 

“Glad you have a name,” Harry nodded, “You could take care of this as a, I don’t know, thank you for not letting you die or something.”  

“Still not sure how I feel about that, but I guess some might see it that way.”  

Louis shrugged and then chucked another bag onto the trash pile.    

“Well, thanks Louis,” Harry smiled and gave him a small wave, “Good luck!” 

And then Harry pulled off his boots, adjusted the straps on his backpack and then turned to start his lightning fast trek back towards Kathmandu.

 

-

 

Home.  Harry loved being home.  It could be lonely and he could get restless, but it was safe and it was his.  He kicked back and flicked on the news to catch up on the world’s happenings after what had seemed like such a long day back at work.  Maybe the boring and mundane wasn’t so bad after all. He had plenty of time to do something with his immortality. 

He’d just finished a pint he’d lifted from the clinic when he caught something out of the corner of his eye through his front window.  Shifting his focus, the bushes growing up beneath the panes were still moving as if something– or someone– had just passed. He sniffed the air and listened.  The nearest heartbeat was coming from the house next door and the scent didn’t seem dangerous. 

He caught another movement from the window around the corner and moved like a flash to the back door.  Waiting, he could hear the slow cautious footsteps now. It sounded like they were trying to be careful yet snapping branches and crunching steps the whole way.  

Just as they approached, he swung around and pulled open the back door to confront the lurker.  

He was met with a girlish scream and a streak of movement.  Not human, then. 

“Mitch, is that you?  Didn’t think you were the pranking type.”  Harry said in exasperation as he crossed his arms over his chest.  His maker was always so serious. He’d never seen the man have a sense of humour in his life.  But Mitch could also be an asshole. 

The whole backyard was completely still save for the slight breeze that tickled the blades of grass in the dim light of evening.  Just as he was about to turn to go back inside, he saw it. His hand reached out and caught the culprit, holding him easily against the wall.  

Louis.  

“How the hell did you find me?” Harry asked with narrowed eyes while he held the baby vamp in place.  

“I just– I didn’t know where to go?  I just followed the trail? I don’t know?” 

He looked visibly shaken and sickly which made Harry loosen his hold.  

“What do you mean?” Harry asked skeptically.  

His voice seemed shaky.  “I just sensed it? Sensed where to go?” 

“That’s a myth.  How did you really find me?” 

“That is how I found you!  I thought I was just guessing but then I got here and then you were here and–”

Harry cut him off with a wave of his hand.  

“Get inside before someone hears us.”  

Harry ushered Louis inside and shut the door behind them.  

“Sit.”  

Louis did as he was told and sat at one of the chairs at the kitchen table.  Harry went over to the fridge and pulled out a new bag of blood. 

“You look like shit.  When was the last time you fed?” 

“Fed?” Louis asked with furrowed brows.  

“Yes, fed, you know, drank blood?”  Harry didn’t have the patience for this.  

“I haven’t?” 

“What do you mean you haven’t?  I couldn’t stop myself when I was first made, it was the only thing I thought about for months.”

“I didn’t know I was supposed to!  I don’t know!” Louis buried his face in his hands, his elbows propped against the table with a dry sob. 

Harry pulled a glass down from the cupboard and filled it half full.  “Here. Drink this and I’ll warm up the rest.” He set the glass down in front of Louis with a sigh and turned to finish preparing what was left.  

“I don’t know if I can without gagging.  That’s so disgusting.” 

“It is what it is.  I’ve wanted a cheeseburger for the last forty years and you have no idea what disgusting is until you’ve tried that so shut up and drink it.” 

Harry turned after setting a pot of water on the stove to heat up.  Louis was still staring at the untouched glass on the table. 

“You came here to my house so if you’re not going to take my suggestions then you can just leave right now.”  

He crossed his arms over his chest and stared intensely at his visitor.  Sinking lower in his chair, Louis reached for the glass like a petulant child and brought it up to his nose.  Harry could see the fire of interest flash behind his eyes before he took a sip and then downed the rest eagerly.  

“See?  You’re fine.”  

Once the water was warm enough, he turned off the burner and set the blood inside to bring it to a palatable temperature.  

“Why don’t you just use the microwave?” 

Louis looked around the kitchen but Harry didn’t have a microwave.  He didn’t have a need for one. 

“Clots the blood.  Nothing will make you gag like lumpy blood pudding, much like yours was actually.”  

“What?” 

Harry hadn’t thought much of the comparison when he’d said it.  Now Louis was staring at him with an expression that Harry couldn’t quite read.  

“So you’re saying you turned me by accident AND my blood was gross??” 

“Calm down.  It’s the altitude and dehydration, I suppose,” Harry waved his hand through his explanation, “There wasn’t anything  _ wrong _ with it.”  

Some of the tension faded as Louis slumped back into his chair.  For the first time Harry really looked at him. His hair was a mess.  He’d lost the climbing suit but the clothes he was wearing were dirty and ripped and maybe a size or two too big.  His skin was ashen and smudged with grime and his eyes were pale. It looked like he had been through hell and back.  He probably had. If anyone had seen him on the street they would have figured he was homeless. Harry wondered if anyone in his neighborhood had seen him on his way over.  

“After you left,” Louis sighed and looked down at where his hands were turning the glass on the table, “After you left I started remembering some things. I know I was in rough shape but then they just left me up there.  I was alive and they just left me.” 

“Do you blame them?”  Harry knew it sounded harsh, but he’d come to learn a lot about mountaineering on his way to Kathmandu.

“Yes!  You don’t just leave someone to die!” 

Louis slammed his hand down on the table, a small crack running across the corner from the force.  

“Can you not break my things?” 

“Sorry.  Sorry I just– you don’t leave someone to die.  I don’t care where it is.”

“You had to understand what you were getting yourself into going up there.  People die every year up there. It’s not a risk they keep secret.” 

“It wasn’t supposed to be me!  I’ve never had a problem with altitude sickness!  I’m young, I train for this, I’ve been on more than half of the world’s tallest peaks.  I SUMMITED K2!”

“Yeah and I’d slept with half the guys in San Francisco and one bad choice got me here.  Nobody is immune to having a bad day.” 

Harry grabbed the empty glass and pursed his lips as he turned to fill it up with the warm blood.  It wasn’t that Harry hadn’t gone through the same stages of his denial. It was just different being on the other side of it when he had been the one make Louis what he was.  Hearing him talk about it made guilt twist into anger.

“Here,” Harry slid the glass across the table.  “Drink this, stay here and get yourself together or whatever, but you better be gone by morning.”  

He said the words with a sense of finality and stalked towards the door.  He didn’t even glance back when he heard the chair legs sliding over the linoleum.  He continued down the hall, through the bedroom and didn’t stop until he had locked himself in the master bath.  

The controls on the shower squeaked as he left the water run to warm up.  He stripped out of his clothes and kicked them into the corner as he had as an annoying teenager.  The echo of his mom’s voice telling him off made him smile as he watched them rumple into a pile. He wondered if the nostalgia would ever go away, if he could ever live without the phantom of his past stalking him with every turn.  It was probably just the house. He wasn’t ready to part with it quite yet though he knew the day would come. 

It wasn’t just his human life that haunted him now that he was on his own.  Louis had brought back memories of his own rebirth and the choices leading up to his demise.  

He ducked his head under the water and stood under the warmth.  He wished a hot shower had the same calming effect it had when he was human, but it still worked well enough. 

Harry had been just a little bit tipsy and a lot bit high the first time he’d met Mitch.  He’d fallen out of the backseat of his friends car giggling after they’d arrived at the little all night diner.  Mitch had been there at his side to haul him back up to his feet and support his weight when he stumbled over his boots again on the pavement.  The memory had been fuzzy at best at the time and became crystal clear once he’d emerged on the other side. 

That had been the extent of their first interaction once he’d deposited Harry in a booth inside.  After that, Mitch just kept popping up wherever Harry happened to be. It was only a few days until Mitch had invited him over for a party.  Harry eagerly accepted. 

He showed up in his new form fitting Fleetwood Mac ringer tshirt tucked into his high waisted jeans with more confidence than he should have displayed.  The drugs were flowing and before he knew it, he was being led up the stairs to a dimly lit bedroom. 

Harry could still vividly remember the way he had been touched on his last night as human.  The perfect mix of gentle and bold, of rough and sweet. Just the thought made him slide his hand down to stroke himself in the steam of the shower.  In hindsight he knew it had been the drugs, but that didn’t diminish the experience for him. 

Mitch had caught him off guard at the height of his orgasm, fangs piercing into his neck and the pain making him come even harder.  

It was a phase, Mitch had told him years later, to suck a brief high off the blood of an intoxicated human.  The rush he’d had from Harry was so intense it had left him stunned long enough that he came back to his senses with a baby vamp at his side.  Mitch argued that it was a much better outcome than all the others he’d just killed or left to die. Harry wasn’t sure if he agreed. 

He stayed in the shower long enough to get off and wash his hair before returning to the bedroom.  He sprawled out on the bed in some loose pajama pants and picked up a book to read from his ever growing stack.  There was never enough to do at night for someone who didn’t require sleep. 

Eventually it was time for work.  He made his way back to the kitchen dressed for the day and was surprised to find Louis in the same place he’d left him the night before.  

“It’s morning if you haven’t noticed,” Harry said as he grabbed his keys.  

Louis gave one nod but didn’t make any move to leave.  

“Come on, I have to go to work.”  

He ushered Louis out the front door and then went around to the garage.  The figure sat down on his front step as he drove away with a sigh. He didn’t have the patience.  

 

-

 

Louis hadn’t moved by the time Harry arrived home from work.  He walked around and stood above him in what he hoped was an intimidating way.  

“What are you doing?”  

“I don’t know where to go, I don’t know what to do.”  Louis answered miserably. 

“Well get up, for one thing, you’re going to freak out my neighbors.” 

Louis nodded and followed him into the house.  

“Clean yourself up at least,” Harry opened the hall closet to pull out a towel to toss in Louis’ direction.  “Someone’s going to call the cops thinking you’re casing the area.” 

Louis nodded and headed down the hallway in the direction Harry had pointed.  He heard the shower start and went to find something for Louis to wear. He found a smaller pair of sweats and a tshirt and walked them down the hall.  

He knocked on the door before cracking it open.  “Here’s some clothes,” he said before tossing them next to the sink and closing the door again.  

He waited in the living room in silence until Louis reappeared, hair still damp.  

“Have a seat,” Harry gestured to one of the crushed velvet chairs.  Louis did so and was quiet as Harry collected his thoughts. 

“You can stay here while you figure something out, but you can’t stay here indefinitely.  This isn’t a coven and I don’t have the patience to babysit.” 

Louis nodded with his eyes turned down towards his lap.  Harry almost felt bad for him– a scolded puppy. 

“A few ground rules.  You don’t feed on or kill my neighbors.  If you’re not going to live the way I live you go at least a hundred miles out from here and don’t make a mess.  Don’t draw attention to yourself and don’t seek out your family or anyone you knew before. They won’t recognize you anyway, you look like a completely different person to them now so get over that urge.  You don’t break or steal my things. If you need money, find a way to get it on your own. And finally, if you’re going to mope around, don’t do it out here. There’s enough of that energy around here already.”  

With that Harry picked up the remote and turned on the tv, not even waiting for an answer.  

 

-

 

“What am I supposed to do with him, Mitch?” Harry hissed into the phone as if someone could hear him.  It was possible if Louis was lurking around but as far as Harry knew, he wouldn’t be lurking around the parking lot at work.  

“That’s not really my problem,” Mitch said with disinterest from the other end.  

“He keeps following me around and won’t leave!” 

“You followed after me like a puppy for years until you heard your parents had died,” Mitch responds, bored.  

“That was different!” 

“How, exactly, was that different?  I at least showed you the ropes before trying to set you free, but you were a thorn in my side from day one.”

“What?  No I wasn’t!” 

“I had to follow behind and clean up all your messes.  Such a chore.” 

Harry sighed.  “So what do I do about him?” 

“Nothing.  Deal with it.  You made him, you raise him.  Simple as that.” 

“That’s not very helpful.”  

“What, did you want me to tell you to stuff him in a bag and toss him into the river or something?” 

“What!?  No!!” Harry looked around and then ducked into his car.  

“You’re fine.  You’ve been on your own for a while now.  In a blink of an eye he’ll be gone and you can go back to whatever it is that you do.”  

Harry sighed again when the phone went dead and he was still in the same place as he had been before.  It hadn’t even been very long compared to Harry’s eternal life yet Louis’ presence had left its mark. He was just always there.  There when Harry went to work, there when Harry came home, there to argue over what they should watch in the evenings or binge on overnight.  

He just really needed some alone time.  

 

-

 

“Why don’t you just go out and do some crazy shit like dive to the bottom of the ocean or sneak into North Korea or something.” 

“Be my guest,” Harry said with a wave of his hand, not looking up from his book.  

“Don’t you get bored?” 

Louis was whining now. He was trying to bait Harry into something and Harry wasn’t interested in falling for it no matter what it was.  

“I entertain myself just fine,” Harry answered.  He wasn’t about to admit his struggles with his condition when he was trying to get Louis to leave the nest.  Maybe the pull of adventure was just the push he needed. 

“Like climbing Mount Everest?” 

Harry slowly set his book down and looked up at Louis.  “I went to Everest to be helpful not to do some, what did you call it?  Crazy shit?” 

Louis gave him a look that was not impressed with his obviously patronizing answer.  Harry just picked up his book and again began to read. 

“You can drop the act.  I can tell you’re not some ancient and wise vampire.”  

Harry sighed and set his book down once again.  “If you go out the door and turn left, you could be at the edge of the ocean in an hour.  Have fun.” 

Louis shot his hand out to stop Harry from lifting his book and looked shocked by the speed his own body had moved.  Harry remembered what that was like. 

“Why are you still here again?” Harry asked with brows raised expectantly.  

“You could do anything you wanted.  Why are you so normal?” 

“If you’re going to insult me, you can leave,” Harry said, irritation coming close to a boil within. 

Louis visibly deflated and sank back into his chair.  

“I just mean why do you have a job and a life just like anyone else when you could do anything?”

“I don’t know, why are you here in my boring life when you could do anything?” Harry asked and then sighed.  “Because I got to a point where I  _ needed _ to feel normal.  I don’t know what makes your experience different, but I didn’t have a choice in how I was at the beginning.  When I finally did, I wanted to feel like any other person.” 

“What do you mean different?” 

“I mean that my blood lust was so strong I went around killing anyone I came across.  I couldn’t help it. I wasn’t able to be normal for a long time and I hated it. You didn’t even have the instinct to do it.”  

Harry resented that in a way.  It made him feel weak and guilty for what he had done in his early years though he had been assured that his behaviour was the norm.  

“When I thought it was a dream, when I woke up and didn’t know where I was… You get so dehydrated up there.  My throat had been burning for weeks with how harsh the air is and the oxygen from the tanks are dry so they won’t freeze… I didn’t think anything was different.  I guess I expected it.” 

That did make sense but it didn’t make Harry feel any better about it.  It also made his irritation churn. Harry moved to go back to his book. 

“I like it here, too,” Louis finally admitted softly.

He would never let Louis see, but that small comment made him smile.  

 

* * *

 

 

With as many things that change after a hundred years, it was shocking to witness just how much stayed the same.  Hatred and conflict, money and social classes, and, of course, Harry’s relationship with Louis. 

Through all the ups and downs and adventures over the course of the century, the two always managed to wind up right where they’d started.  They had no problem going out and living their own separate lives, but always ended up back as roommates once again. 

Louis would irritate Harry, Harry would push Louis out the door yet they somehow found themselves back in the same scenario just years later.  

“What are you doing with my fine china??” 

Harry loomed over the couch with his fists balled at his sides. Louis sat with his legs folded up in the corner against the arm while he had one of Harry’s fragile china teacups resting atop a saucer poised in his hand.  

“I miss tea,” Louis shrugged and daintily lifted the teacup to his lips to take a sip.  

Harry could see the crimson liquid clinging to the sides once Louis set it back onto the saucer.  

“What does that have to do with anything??” he demanded. 

“It means that I’m pretending to have a cup of tea.”  Louis looked at Harry like he was stupid. Harry was on the receiving end of that look a lot.  

“You’re going to stain it!  Do you even know how expensive that was??” 

“Are you worried it will scandalize all the humans you have over for your fancy tea parties?” Louis sassed.  

They both knew they never had humans over to the house.  That wasn’t the point. Harry narrowed his eyes and glared.  He was seething. 

“It tastes better like this,” Louis shrugged

“WHAT?! How does it taste any better?!” 

“I KNOW WHAT GOOD TEA TASTES LIKE!!” 

“YEAH, WELL I KNOW WHAT YOUR FROZEN DICK TASTES LIKE!” 

The room went suddenly silent as they stared at each other in shock.  Harry rarely slipped up. He always took his time, he always said exactly what he meant to say.  In a hundred years he’d not once admitted those words. 

“You what?” Louis’ soft voice wavered just slightly, just enough for Harry to detect.  

“Nothing, I was just angry.”  Harry waved his hand to brush it off.  

“No, what did you mean?” Louis pressed.  

“I…” Harry fish mouthed.  How was he supposed to explain himself?  Louis knew how Harry had found him naked and jerking off but not what Harry had started before the final beats of his heart.  

“I knew there was something weird about you!  Not even vampires are into necrophilia!!” Louis jumped off the couch and stared at Harry, chest heaving though he didn’t need the breath.  

“You weren’t dead!” Harry blurted out and then snapped his mouth shut again.  He was really on a roll. 

“Why don’t I remember this??” 

“Because it barely started!!  Your heart stopped and I panicked and bit you!” 

“I can’t believe this,” Louis said as he pinched the bridge of his nose and started pacing back and forth.  

Harry held his hands up in front of his chest and took a step back.  “Look, I’m really sorry. I didn’t know any of this was going to happen when I saw you naked on the snow.” 

“So this  _ whole _ time you wanted to suck my dick?” Louis stopped and turned to face him.  

“I mean… I’m not always actively thinking about it but it’s not like you’re not attractive or that I wouldn’t—”

The pictures hanging on the wall shuttered and rattled in place as Harry’s ramble was cut off by suddenly being pinned to the wall.  

“I can’t believe we could have been doing this for the last century,” Louis said just before pressing his lips against Harry’s  _ hard _ .  

He was so caught off guard that it took him a moment to respond, to slide his fingers into Louis’ hair as they wrestled in a crushing kiss.  The drywall behind Harry’s back cracked and the buttons from his shirt bounced against the floor under Louis’ determined hands. Their clothes were shreds in an instant. 

“I didn’t know you were interested,” Harry breathed when their lips parted for just a moment.  

“Why do you think I kept coming back?” 

Harry reached between them to wrap a hand around both their cocks, jerking together as Louis reclaimed the kiss.  

It was rough and hard and fast but Harry had never felt more satisfied.  He let his body slide down the wall to the floor once they had both spilled and welcomed Louis into his lap.  

“I thought you were just trying to irritate me.” 

“I was only irritating you because it was too easy to get under your skin.”  

They both let out breathy laughs before falling into another kiss.  

“At least we haven’t missed our chance,” Louis breathed before diving in again.  

“No, we have the rest of eternity.”

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> I'm finally revealed!! Here's a [tumblr post!](https://jaerie.tumblr.com/post/185704490867/a-long-way-from-the-top-e-11k-by-jaerie-harry)


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